


For What It's Worth, It Was Worth All the While

by Chash



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-14
Updated: 2016-01-14
Packaged: 2018-05-13 21:02:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5716972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chash/pseuds/Chash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke's senior year of college did not go well: her friends didn't like her girlfriend, she rethought her entire life plan, and then her girlfriend dumped her. So, needless to say, she's feeling pretty nervous about her five-year reunion. Asking her best friend to come along and pose as her boyfriend seems like a great idea.</p><p>Then the Blake siblings happen to them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	For What It's Worth, It Was Worth All the While

**Author's Note:**

> I'm having fun with romantic tropes for platonic friends this month, so here's some Clarke&Lincoln fake dating. Because you're not my dad.

"Maybe I just won't go," Clarke says, staring at her Facebook feed in horror.

"You've already paid for your registration and rented a car," Lincoln says, annoyingly reasonable, as always. "Why would you not go at this point?"

"Because Lexa just got _engaged_."

He does at least pause to digest this new information. "You knew she was in a relationship. I don't see why it's so much worse that she's engaged."

"That's because you've never had a bad breakup in your life," she says, scowling at him. "Every time you break up with someone, you have a mature conversation about it and somehow convince them that it really is for the best and end up hugging. You're like a fucking romance wizard."

"In your defense, your bad breakups weren't really your fault. Every breakup you've had since we met was fairly normal. I don't think you were the problem with Finn and Lexa."

"None of this is helping." She rubs her face. "I don't know. It's just--when she and I broke up, she threw all this stuff in my face, like I wasn't going to make it as an artist and it was a mistake for me to not go to med school and alienate my mother and--I don't think she's _right_ , but she's going to look at my life and think she was. And she's exactly where she planned to be, partner-track at some prestigious law firm, engaged, life totally on track." She groans and flops back on the couch. "I'm good with where I am, but she was always so fucking good at making me feel bad about my choices."

"But there are other people you'd like to see, aren't there?" Lincoln asks. "I assume you had friends. I've seen pictures of them."

Clarke sticks her tongue out. "I had plenty of friends, shut up."

"See? You should go, so you can see them. Lexa isn't the only person who's going to be there."

"Or I could stay here and drink with you."

"I remember my college reunion," he says, dry. "If you want access to alcohol, you should definitely go there. They will have a lot more alcohol than we do. And higher quality. And you did already pay for it."

It comes to her in a flash of insight; she bolts up and stares at him, grinning wildly.

Unsurprisingly, he looks somewhat terrified. "What?" he asks.

"You should come! There's booze I already paid for, you can meet all my friends, and you're so unrelentingly awesome that even Lexa won't be able to ruin my day. We can just hang out and have fun. No stress."

"Am I your boyfriend in this scenario?" Lincoln asks. He sounds more curious than concerned, which Clarke takes as a good sign. "Or am I just coming as a friend?"

"Oh no, you're totally going to be my trophy boyfriend. You're a hot, buff artist. All my friends will be so impressed."

Lincoln snorts. "Are you trying to butter me up?"

"Do I need to? Come on, this is perfect. We'll have so much fun. You can see Raven again, you remember Raven. She was here a few years ago for that conference and drank you under the table."

"Wasn't she the one your ex-boyfriend was cheating on with you?"

"Yeah, and she's bringing some new guy she won't tell me about, so that's just one more reason for me to have a boyfriend of my own. See? It all makes sense. We're going to have a great time."

"The last time you told me we were going to have a great time at something, you were trying to convince me to go to your mother's black-tie fundraiser, and it was awful."

"But we did get drunk behind a Denny's after," Clarke says. "I promise this will be at least that much fun."

Lincoln smiles, clearly in spite of himself and his own best interests. It's probably going to be a disaster, but it's going to be a _friendship_ disaster. "At least as fun as getting drunk behind a Denny's," he muses. "How can I say no to that?"

*

"So, I've come up with our backstory," Lincoln says, once they've successfully navigated onto the highway. It's only a four-hour drive, but Clarke is still already grateful for Lincoln's company. She doesn't mind driving alone, but she really sucks at navigating. Even Siri can't save her most of the time.

"Our backstory?"

"For our relationship. It's mostly accurate. We met four years ago, when you answered my Craigslist ad looking for a roommate. We started dating last year--"

"Wow, what took us so long?"

"I'm trying to stick as close to our real relationship as possible. I was dating Nyko when we met, and then by the time he and I broke up you were dating--the one with the half-shaved head?"

"Monroe," Clarke supplies. "And then you were dating Anya and I was dating--" She frowns. "Sterling, I think?"

"Exactly. We had overlapping relationships for three years. This is the longest both of us have been single since we met."

"Wow, really?" She flashes him a grin. "It's probably because we're secretly pining away for each other."

"It's a good thing we're doing this, then. I'm sure all of our repressed feelings will come out."

"I'm feeling overcome with lust already. How do you feel about roadside sex? I can pull over."

"Sorry, I only have sex in gas station rest rooms on road trips. Personal policy."

Clarke laughs. "This is why we aren't _really_ dating. You're just such a prude."

He grins back. "I knew there had to be a reason."

They had tried dating once, briefly. Or they'd slept together, and it was good, amazing even, but--that's not actually what they want from each other. Lincoln is her best friend and favorite person, and Clarke doesn't know what she'd do without him, but she's pretty sure they're both looking for different things from a relationship.

But as best friends go, there's no one better. Case in point: fake dating her for the weekend so she won't be alone at her college reunion.

"Speaking of logistics," she says, awkward. "My senior year was pretty awkward. I think I told you."

He nods. "Because of the Lexa situation."

Lincoln's the only one she's ever told the whole Lexa story, once, when she was drunk. They'd started dating the first month of senior year, and she'd been really happy, at first. Lexa was cold and aloof a lot of the time, not interested in many people, and it made Clarke feel so fucking _cool_ , that she was pursuing her. When Lexa wanted you, you felt special.

Unfortunately, Lexa hadn't really known how to interact with Clarke's friends, and Clarke's friends hadn't particularly liked her in the first place, so she'd drifted away from them during the relationship. And then Clarke had decided not to go to med school after all and ruined Lexa's plan of getting an apartment together while she did law school and Clarke did med school. It hadn't seemed like a big deal to Clarke--they could still move to New York and live together--but Lexa was disapproving and disappointed and, honestly, an asshole about the whole thing. The relationship had blown up so badly it took Clarke a couple years to recover, and she'd spent the last month of college making sure she didn't fail all her exams instead of repairing her friendships, which was probably _right_ , as life choices go, but it sucked too.

"Because of the Lexa situation," she agrees, tapping her fingers against the wheel. "So--I honestly don't know how many friends I have either. Raven, obviously, Raven still loves me. Monty loves everyone. Octavia can hold a grudge, so I don't know about her. Same with Jasper."

"She's the hot one?" Lincoln asks, deliberately casual. "Octavia?"

"All my friends are hot. But, yeah, Octavia is the one who you always point out when you see my college pictures. And she's--we're still Facebook friends, but we never chat or anything." She grins at him. "And, since you're my boyfriend, you're not allowed to hit on her. No matter how hot she is."

"I wasn't going to hit on her. I'm an exceptional fake boyfriend. I would never fake cheat on you with your hot friend."

"Uh huh," Clarke teases. "Sure. We've been fake dating for an hour and you're already the shittiest fake boyfriend I've ever had."

"I'm mortified," he deadpans. "Tell me more about Lexa."

"What more is there?"

"Not your breakup, we've discussed that enough. But what I should be worrying about this weekend? What do you need me to do as your boyfriend with her specifically?"

Something warm rises in Clarke's chest; she's lucky to have good friends, but a lot of them are old and distant, like Wells and Raven, people she _adores_ , but almost feels like she cheated into. She feels like a completely different person than she was college, a lot of the time, and Lincoln is the friend she feels like she's really _earned_. And he's one of the best.

"It's mostly just back-up, reminding me I'm awesome. I like where I am with my life, you know? But it's not--Raven, Monty, and Jasper started a company and are kicking ass with VR tech shit, Octavia just finished up her PhD in psychology, and Lexa is working for some cut-throat New York law firm and making a billion dollars a year. And I'm--happy."

"Which is obviously not worth anything," he says, but she knows he understands. The reason she'd responded to his roommate ad in the first place was that he said he'd sacrificed living space in his apartment for a studio. They're both artists, and while Lincoln is more successful than she is, he's still not supporting himself with his art, and he understands what it's like, struggling to do what you love, to make any money or any kind of impact.

"I'm going to have to tell everyone I know that I'm working two jobs and underemployed in both, and I'd probably be better off if I'd gone to med school."

"You like your jobs," Lincoln reminds her, and it's not like he's _wrong_. She works at a picture-framing store full-time and does weekend workshops at an art museum, and she has a semi-successful webcomic with a decent number of Tumblr followers. It's not where she dreamed of being five years out of college, but--it's honestly great.

She just doesn't know how to explain it to anyone else without sounding like she failed.

"I know," she says. "I know! This is why I need you, to just--remind me. How great I am."

"I can absolutely do that."

"I know you can. And Lexa's good at--she doesn't _mean_ to make people feel shitty about themselves, she just does."

"She sounds wonderful," Lincoln says, and Clarke has to laugh.

"Yeah, when she loves you, it's--amazing. I felt like the coolest person ever. But she doesn't know how to think about other people's feelings."

"I believe that's one of the signs of sociopathy. I'll ask your hot friend with the psychology degree."

"I'm sure she'll be happy to diagnose my ex with you. Octavia _really_ hated her."

"I can't say I find myself disagreeing with her."

"Maybe she's--I don't know. Maybe she's better. I wasn't perfect in college either."

"I've been perfect since birth," Lincoln says, and Clarke laughs.

"I know that's supposed to be a joke, but I would believe it." She looks at her hands on the steering wheel. "I can't thank you enough for doing this for me. I just--I didn't know how to do it alone."

He squeezes her shoulder. "I'm your fake boyfriend," he says. "That's what I'm here for."

*

They get to campus just after 5:30, in plenty of time to check in and find their room before dinner starts at 7. There are three full days of organized activities, which will be great, if Clarke can't make peace with any of her friends. At least they'll still be able to stay busy regardless. 

"There are hikes," Lincoln says, reading over the schedule as Clarke navigates them to the dorm where they'll be staying.

"You're on your own for hikes," she says. 

"As my girlfriend, you're supposed to share and support my interests," he says.

"I share and support 95% of your interests," she says. "And then there's hiking."

Her phone buzzes on the stairs, and she fishes it out; Raven has replied to her _We're here_ text with: _We'll be there around eight. Also, I can't believe we're both bringing secret boyfriends. That's even tackier than wearing the same dress._

It makes her grin; she feels a little bad lying to Raven about Lincoln, but no one is ever going to know. They'll just fake break up later and no one will ever care. _What if we're also wearing the same dress?_

 _Fight to the death, obv_ , Raven replies, instantly; Clarke can't wait to see her.

"This one," Lincoln says, inclining his head to a door. 

Clarke gets it opened up, and it's like stepping back in time. The beds have been shoved together, but other than that, the room looks just like the one she lived in her sophomore year, for all it's a different building. 

"Romantic," Lincoln remarks.

"It was nice of them to shove the beds together for us," she says. "Back in my day, we had to do that ourselves. Or just sleep on the floor."

"Ah, memories," he says, slinging his bag onto the desk and flopping back on the bed. "We're free until dinner?"

"Unless someone finds me and wants to talk to me. But if you want to nap or whatever, go for it." 

"I might, unless I'm shirking my duties as your devoted partner."

"Nope, I'm just going to get my laptop set up on wifi. I'll wake you up if I need you."

It's a lot like being at home, honestly, Clarke on her computer, Lincoln napping. He works the opening shift at a bakery, so he always wakes up ludicrously early and naps in he afternoon. As ways to start a stressful weekend go, it's pretty good. Nice, familiar, best-friend time. This is totally doable. She shouldn't have worried.

Then, of course, as soon as she leaves the room to go to the bathroom, she collides with Octavia Blake.

She's just as beautiful as Clarke remembers, long, shining brown hair, bright green eyes, smooth skin dotted with a few freckles that look like they were carefully placed by an artist. They were roommates back in freshman year, friends until Clarke and Lexa happened. She wishes they'd stayed close; Octavia's the best.

There's a moment where Clarke isn't sure what to do, and she can tell Octavia doesn't know either. Then she grins and throws her arms around Clarke, and Clarke hugs back, fierce and relieved, holding her as tightly as she can.

"Hi! I didn't know if you were coming!" says Octavia. "I checked Facebook but you haven't updated in like three years, so it didn't help at all."

"Yeah, I moved most of my social media to Tumblr, I get more attention there," Clarke says. "But it's really good to see you."

"You too! You're in Boston, right? I'm about to be in Boston! I'm moving on July first. I was going to call you if you weren't here to let you know, but you're here!"

Clarke tries and fails to not be overwhelmed. Octavia is always kind of a lot to handle; most of her friends these days are more restrained. "Really? Awesome. You just finished grad school, right? You got a job in Boston?"

"Yup. My brother's there, so I'm going to move in with him when his roommate leaves, it's perfect. What are you doing? Is this your room? Is Raven here yet?"

"God, do you _breathe_?" Clarke teases, and Octavia grins.

"As little as possible. Also, I ran into Jasper and Monty and they made me do shots with them. You should come hang out with us! It's awesome. I'm getting playing cards so we can do some ill-advised drinking games."

"I need to hit the bathroom and I should probably grab my boyfriend? But, yeah, we'd love to join you guys." 

"Ooh, boyfriend? I definitely want to meet your boyfriend. We're on the second floor, 214, come down as soon as you're ready!"

Clarke bites back on her smile. "Will do." She gives Octavia another quick hug, from relief as much as anything. She's really, really glad she's not holding a grudge, or being weird. Or, well, no weirder than usual. "See you guys soon."

In the bathroom, she washes her face and stares at herself in the mirror for a while. She _looks_ happy, she thinks. Relaxed and at peace with herself. She's in a good place, and Lincoln will back her up.

She's living the life she wants to lead, and that counts for everything.

On her way back to her room, she runs into someone else, but this time they're unfamiliar, a guy a few inches taller than she is with messy black hair and tan skin. His smile when he catches her is bright and amused, and she feels an unwelcome lurch of attraction. He has _freckles_. She likes freckles. "I did hear the party had already started over here," he says, voice warm.

"I'm not drunk, just unobservant," she says, returning the smile.

"I was trying to give you the benefit of the doubt, but that's cool too." He considers her. "You don't happen to know which room Octavia Blake is in, do you?"

"I don't," says Clarke, slow. "But I'm supposed to be meeting her downstairs to start getting drunk."

"Jesus, she's been here for _forty minutes_ , how is she already drunk? Can I tag along? Uh--not being creepy or anything," he adds quickly, and offers his hand. "I'm Bellamy, I'm her brother."

Clarke blinks a few time, reconsidering him. She heard a lot about Octavia's brother back when they were in school--he's a lot older than she is and had half-raised her because their mom worked three jobs to support the family--but she never met him, or even saw any pictures. Octavia said he was too ugly to photograph, which Clarke now knows was a _total fucking lie_.

And, of course, she now knows he lives in Boston and Octavia is going to move in with him. Which is--good to know.

"Nice to meet you," Clarke says, shaking his hand. He has nice hands; Blake genes are apparently the best genes. "I'm Clarke. Octavia and I were roommates freshmen year."

"That would be why you look familiar," he says. "Nice to meet you."

There's a pause, but she can't help asking, "What are you doing here?" 

"I was supposed to get down tomorrow, but work was pretty dead, so I figured I'd come early and surprise O. But I'm surprising her, so I don't know where she is."

"No, but--why are you _here_ ," she clarifies. "I don't have any siblings, but I didn't think it was standard practice to come to your sister's college reunion."

He barks out a surprised laugh. "Oh, yeah, no. Definitely not. I'm class of 2006, it's my ten-year reunion."

" _Oh_. Sorry, she didn't mention. But she was drunk and--Octavia."

"And she didn't know I was coming tonight."

"Yeah." She wets her lips, feeling awkward. "Um, I have to grab my boyfriend," she says, reluctant. "But we'll take you down with us if you want? Or you can go on your own, she's in 214."

If he has a reaction to finding out she has a boyfriend, he doesn't show it, which--does not matter, of course. Just because she thinks he's hot doesn't mean he has to feel the same way. And even if he did, she does have a fake boyfriend, so--yeah. Who cares?

"I'll come down with you guys," he says. "Safety in numbers."

"Scared of your sister's friends?" she asks, leading him back toward her and Lincoln's room.

"Terrified. They're willingly friends with my sister." Clarke laughs, and he grins at her. "Present company excluded, obviously. You were her roommate. You had to be friends with her. Not your fault."

"Yeah, it was totally against my will," Clarke says. "I need to wake up Lincoln, but we'll be out in a sec? He's giant, you can hide behind him."

"Awesome, just what I was looking for."

Lincoln's already awake, but Clarke closes the door anyway, goes over and leans against his side on the bed. "We're supposed to go get drunk with my hot friend Octavia and her equally hot brother I just met in the hallway."

He snorts and presses his lips to her temple. "You sound very excited about this."

"Octavia doesn't still think I'm a jerk who abandoned her for my asshole girlfriend, I guess, so that's nice. She's moving to Boston in a month, so we can maybe even be, like, _friends_. And we can fake a break up and you can marry her."

"This all sounds like good news to me."

"I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"Ah, pessimism. That's my girl." He stands and gives her a hand up. "Come on. Let's go get drunk with your friends."

Bellamy gives them another bright smile when they come back out, and Clarke performs quick introductions. She barely even stumbles over the word _boyfriend_ , and Lincoln is charming and easy, just like always. For all he's shy and not particularly sociable, definitely an introvert, he's good with people. And he's doing her a huge favor.

So she really cannot check out Octavia's cute brother. Not when she has such an amazing fake boyfriend.

"We're going to hang out with Monty and Jasper," Clarke tells them. "They lived on the same floor we did freshman year."

"Oh, cool, I know Monty's boyfriend," says Bellamy.

"Is it still, uh--" Clarke struggles for the name, and finally settles on, "The same guy?" He was a few years older than they were, so the two of them were long distance for most of Monty's college career. Clarke has definitely met him, but, if she's honest, she hadn't expected it to really last.

"Miller, yeah. Or Nate, I guess. I forgot he was going to be here, that's awesome."

"Are you your sister's plus one?" Lincoln asks, polite and interested and _probably_ not just trying to establish if Octavia brought a significant other.

"Nah, I'm here for my ten-year reunion." He starts to add something, but the door to 214 is open and there's a burst of noise from inside, and then Octavia's in the hallway, launching herself at her brother.

"Bell!" she says, even happier than when she saw Clarke. Bellamy barely manages to catch her, but he's laughing too, twirling her around in the air. "You said you weren't here until tomorrow!"

"The boss told me to leave, I wasn't getting anything done," he says. His grin is even bigger for Octavia, and Clarke's pretty sure both she and Lincoln are watching the two of them in an inappropriate way.

Stupid hot people.

"I figured I'd surprise you," Bellamy continues. "Clarke said there was drinking?"

"You know Clarke?" Octavia asks, wrinkling her brow. 

"We just met upstairs. I figured alcohol was for everyone," Clarke says.

"You're not wrong," says Octavia, hooking one of her arms into Bellamy's and the other into Clarke's. "Come on, Clarke's boyfriend!" she calls over her shoulder at Lincoln. "Drinking!"

Clarke gives Lincoln a helpless smile, and he grins back. "Drinking," he agrees, and follows them into the dorm room.

*

By the time they're heading to dinner, Clarke is pleasantly buzzed by not drunk. Her friends still like her, which is nice, and they seem to like Lincoln too, because of course they do. Lincoln is charming and funny and always down for stupid drinking games.

Bellamy fits into the group just as easily, Clarke assumes because it's not really a group anymore, not really. And Bellamy's a cool guy, sarcastic and snide, but in a fun way. 

Or possibly he's just _really_ hot. But that's neither here nor there.

Clarke leans into Lincoln's side as they head to the picnic, as much because of nerves as alcohol. Lexa might not be here yet--aside from dinner, there are no official Thursday events, and plenty of people won't be arriving until tomorrow--but Clarke doesn't know. She _hates_ not knowing. It'll be better, once she's seen her again. It's always better, to get this stuff over with.

Lincoln squeezes her shoulder. "You should have gotten drunker."

"I should have."

"If you play your cards right, I'll give you my flask," says Bellamy, surprising her. She hadn't realized he was so close to them. "But I'm going to need a good reason."

"My ex-girlfriend is here," Clarke says. It feels insufficient, but Bellamy nods and fishes a silver flask out of his back pocket, handing it over without further comment. "Wow, you're really easy," she remarks, and then takes a swig from the flask to drown out her embarrassment at that phrasing. 

But Bellamy seems unconcerned. "O might have gone on some rants about your ex-girlfriend, assuming it's the same one."

"Is she coming?" Octavia asks. "I figured she'd be too busy being a rich soulless lawyer."

"She's coming. With her fiancee," Clarke says.

"Ouch," says Octavia. She links her arm with Lincoln's now. "I bet her fiancee isn't as hot as Lincoln, though."

"I think it's probably apples and oranges," says Clarke. "But yeah, you're right. Lincoln is the hottest. I'm just--I'm not looking forward to the _Oh, you're not a famous artist_ conversation. She said all this shit when we broke up about how I was going to regret giving up on med school, and I don't, but she knows how to make me feel like I should. She and my mother have that in common."

"Just remember, many people have heard of your Tumblr," Lincoln says. "You're famous in certain circles."

"Thanks for your support," Clarke says. She takes a final gulp from Bellamy's flask and passes it back to him with a grateful smile. "I'm still not going hiking with you."

Octavia, of course, perks up. Octavia is one of those outdoorsy types. Honestly, if they hadn't been roommates, she and Clarke probably never would have become friends. The main things they have in common are enjoying alcohol and hating a lot of the same things. But, as things to have in common go, those _are_ pretty great. "Are you guys doing the hike tomorrow?" she asks.

"I'm not," Clarke says, firm, but she smiles at Lincoln. "If you guys want to, though, knock yourselves out. I assume that's what happens on hikes."

"We knock ourselves out and then die on a mountain," Lincoln agrees. "It's very enjoyable."

"You get it," Octavia says, squeezing his arm. "We're totally going hiking."

Most of the meals divided by class, but since most people aren't coming down until Friday, everyone who's around is at one big picnic, which is nice, because Bellamy just sits with them instead of finding the rest of the class of '06.

"Don't you have your own friends?" Miller asks, and then winces, Clarke assumes because Bellamy kicked him.

"Nope," he says, cheerful. "Just my sister and you, like always."

"Ten years out of college and as pathetic as ever," says Octavia, and Bellamy raises his beer in her general direction.

"Why mess with success?" He turns his attention back to Clarke, dark eyes curious. "O said you guys are in Boston, right?"

It turns out he lives only a few blocks away from them and works in publishing, which Clarke knows a little about because she's been working on getting her webcomic in print. He's smart and funny, easy to talk to, and she's drawn into the conversation in no time, trying not to get too distracted by the way he talks with his hands and the pattern of freckles on his face.

She leans hard against Lincoln the whole time, just to remind herself that he's there. And to remind him, given he seems to be chatting with Octavia about their mutual love of rock-climbing. Clarke wonders if there's some kind of etiquette on hitting on siblings--are double dates more or less awkward when half the participants are related? And if the other half are pretending to be dating each other?

Scratch that; there cannot possibly be any kind of etiquette for this situation.

Bellamy is grabbing dessert when Raven sinks into his seat, apparently having just arrived. She looks amazing, as always, sleek ponytail and perfect white teeth, grinning at Clarke like she knows a secret. It makes zero sense until Wells takes the seat on Clarke's right.

"Surprise boyfriend," she says, with a smugness Clarke can't deny she's earned. Wells moved to the DC area last year, and Clarke gave him Raven and Monty's numbers, and she knew they'd been hanging out, but--as surprise boyfriends go, Wells is the best.

"Yours is a better surprise than mine," Clarke says, giving Wells a quick hug before she performs introductions. Bellamy gets back in the middle of that, so he gets lumped in, and Clarke realizes, as he and Wells start talking politics, that she doesn't feel awkward at all. She's surrounded by friends, people who love her, and--well, Bellamy, who's admittedly new, but seems pretty positive about her and totally non-judgmental about her life and career choices.

Of course, Lexa hasn't showed up yet. But still, in her worst imaginings, shit had already gone horribly wrong by this point, so she's counting it as a win.

"This is fun," she tells Lincoln, leaning back into him as they walk back to the dorm.

"I told you so," he replies, and she sticks her tongue out.

*

Lincoln wakes up before her the next morning, so he can go hiking with Octavia. Clarke groans, flops over, and says, "Remember, you're allowed to knock yourself out and die, but no cheating on me."

"If I make out with her, you can make out with her brother," Lincoln says, because he's an asshole.

"Isn't that the plot of _Ten Things I Hate About You_?"

"I'm just saying, be a little more subtle, or you're going to give yourself away."

"Sorry I'm a shitty fake girlfriend," she says. "But he is very pretty." She pauses. "Not that you're not. You're very pretty too."

Lincoln chuckles, leans over and presses his lips to Clarke's forehead. "That's very kind of you. Go back to sleep."

When she next wakes up, it's 9:30, which means there's only half an hour left of free dining hall breakfast. She drags herself down and finds Bellamy and Monty's boyfriend already there, playing some card game on an iPad across the table. They're definitely her best option for company. It has nothing to do with Bellamy being pretty.

"Morning," he says, when she sits next to him. "Sleep well?"

"Until Lincoln woke up at the crack of dawn for hiking, yeah. Don't tell me Monty went too."

Miller snorts. "Yeah, no. He and Raven and Jasper are on a conference call for work. You know them, they can't just leave the company alone."

"So we won't see them for the rest of the weekend?" Clarke asks, fond.

"Most likely."

"But O and your boyfriend are going to be eaten by cougars," Bellamy points out. "So they're probably the worst off. Until your ex shows up, anyway."

"Do I have to go hiking to get eaten by cougars?" Clarke asks. "Or can I just get eaten here? If I don't have to hike, the cougars sound better than my ex."

Bellamy snorts. "Glad we figured that out. Eaten alive is fine, as long as you can do it inside."

"Basically." She remembers, belatedly, that Miller is there and she has a boyfriend, and she should maybe smile at Bellamy a little less than she is. "What are you guys doing today?"

"Dragging Monty off the phone," Miller says. "For his own good. He's using vacation days for this. I assume you've got stuff to do with your actual classmates," he tells Bellamy.

"Fuck no, all the official activities are bullshit." His cheeks color a little like he's embarrassed for reasons that are totally beyond Clarke. "I was actually going to hit up the college museum."

"Yeah?" asks Clarke, trying to sound interested and non-judgmental. Which she is, but sometimes her voice doesn't always reflect that. "Do they have anything special going on?"

"Comic-book art exhibit," he says.

It's not like she _could_ be hanging out with her boyfriend. Lincoln's gone for a few more hours, so it's not weird to hang out with someone who isn't him. Even an attractive, interesting someone who isn't him.

More to the point, Lincoln _isn't her boyfriend_ , so she doesn't have to feel guilty about wanting to spend some time with a cute boy she thinks she could like.

"That sounds awesome, can I come?"

"I will also want to check out other stuff," he says, like this is somehow going to be a problem for her.

"You got the part where I'm an artist who works part-time at a museum, right? Do you think I _don't_ want to look at at everything?"

"Yeah, okay, that was stupid of me." He shrugs, gives her a shy smile. "Of course you're welcome."

It's early June, warm without being hot, a nice day for the short walk to the museum. Clarke spent a lot of time there as an undergrad, but hadn't thought of going back, in part because she'd spent so much time worrying about the actual details of the reunion. It was hard to do much activity planning with so much stressing going on.

"When did Octavia tell you about my ex?" she finds herself asking.

"Huh?" says Bellamy.

"Just--I was kind of worried she was going to still be mad at me. I was kind of a dick senior year with the whole thing, and we haven't done that well keeping up with each other."

"Oh, that." He shrugs his shoulder, giving her half a smile. "I did get some _god, Clarke's girlfriend is an asshole_ calls your senior year, yeah. Honestly, I think she was just stressed, though. She was freaking out about graduation and all you guys going your separate ways."

"Which we did," Clarke says, rueful.

"Yeah, but--" He shrugs. "She's not holding a grudge, don't worry. She mentioned you were in Boston when she took her job and she was hoping to reconnect, but that's about all I've heard about you in the last few years. It's not like she still calls me up to say your girlfriend was an asshole five years ago."

"I tell Lincoln how my girlfriend was an asshole five years ago all the time."

"Yeah, it's probably more relevant to your life." He glances at her sidelong. "I didn't get that much detail about how she was an asshole, aside from O not liking her. Which, uh--O doesn't always have the most unbiased opinions."

"Neither do I, she's my ex." Clarke sighs. "Do you have--some people just make you see all the worst stuff about yourself, you know?"

He seems to be thinking it over. "I like to think I kind of do that myself."

"I hope not, it sucks," she says, and he laughs. "It's not quite that, just--whenever I see her or my mom, I think about what my life was supposed to be at this point. And I don't want that life, but I feel like I should." She pauses. "Also, she's just really good at making people feel shitty about themselves. Or she was."

"You seem like you're doing fine to me," he says. "But I grew up poor, so just having balance in my savings account is awesome as far as I'm concerned."

"I grew up stupid rich," Clarke admits. "So my idea of success is based a lot on that. Status and shit."

"Yeah, I remember that too. Octavia might have called you a spoiled princess a lot your freshman year."

Perversely, it makes Clarke smile. "I really was. I was so sheltered and spoiled when I got here."

"You seem like a pretty normal person now," he says.

"I'm trying."

He holds the door to the museum open for her, absent courtesy. "Did she tell you about me?" he asks. "I'm starting to feel like a creep, remembering this much about you."

Clarke laughs. "She hated some girl you dated when we were juniors."

"Roma, yeah. She really hated Roma."

"And she said you pretty much raised her."

"Pretty much," he says. "Our grandma died when O was five, and after that, yeah--it was just me and her, honestly. I don't think Mom really wanted kids, so she just let us fend for ourselves."

"When did she die? She did, right?"

"Yeah, four years ago. Don't say you're sorry," he adds, when she opens her mouth. "It's awkward if I have to pretend it made a difference in my life. Also, it's been four years." 

"I was going to say that's when my dad died."

"I assume I should actually be sorry about that?"

"Up to you. But I miss him, yeah."

"Then I'm sorry," he says. "What happened?"

"Car crash. It was the last straw for me and my mom too, so--" She swallows hard. "It's basically just been me and Lincoln since then."

"He seems like a really cool guy," Bellamy offers, and Clarke hopes she's not wrong in thinking there's an odd tone to his voice. 

Fake dating seemed like so much of a better idea, before Bellamy Blake was hot. And before her friends were so happy to see her, if she's honest. Now she just feels like a dick about everything.

She feels even worse when her phone buzzes, and she sees Lincoln has texted, _Why is your hot friend so hot?_

Bellamy is looking at an Alex Ross painting, so Clarke has some privacy to reply, _I'm at a museum with her brother. Maybe we should fake break up._

_What about the ex?_

She really doesn't deserve such a great fake boyfriend. _Maybe just tell my actual friends. Is there a good way to explain asking my BFF to be my fake boyfriend without admitting I was afraid to see them again?_

 _Singing telegram_ , he replies, instantly, and Clarke snorts.

"What?" asks Bellamy.

"Just Lincoln," she says. "Still not eaten."

"Oh good, I was worried."

She goes to stand next to him by one of the panels on display. "Sorry for abandoning you."

"You know I was planning to come alone, right?" Bellamy asks, sounding amused. "I'm not actually offended you're doing something else with your life."

"I'm offending myself, I'm supposed to be the art nerd here," she tells him. 

"Okay, yeah, you're right. And you have a webcomic. You should be telling me all about composition and shit. I'm disappointed in your lack of insight."

"That explosion looks kind of like a penis," Clarke remarks, pointing, and Bellamy snorts.

"There we go. Use that art degree."

"Art _minor_ , thanks. I was pre-med."

"Wow, they teach you how to find things that look like penises even if you don't do the major? Giving away all the trade secrets."

"I'd say things that look like vaginas are the master-level, but Georgia O'Keefe, so--"

Bellamy laughs again, soft. "Yeah, even I know that one, and the closest I came to studying art was covering the renaissance in one of my European history classes."

"And you didn't learn _anything_ about finding things that look like dicks?" she teases.

"Yeah, I wasted my entire college education." 

Clarke focuses on the art when she asks, "Did you come to this reunion just to hang out with your sister?"

"Not _just_ ," he says. "But if she wasn't coming I probably wouldn't have, yeah. My five-year one was really boring."

"You really didn't have any friends?" Clarke teases.

"Miller, obviously," he says. "But he was class of '08, so it wasn't like he was there." He shrugs. "It wasn't like I hated everyone, but I wasn't that excited to see anyone, and, honestly? My job sucked, my girlfriend and I had just broken up, and it was right after you guys graduated, so I was pissed O was moving across the country. I just drank a lot and was a dick to everyone."

"As opposed to now, when--"

He grins. "I'm drinking a lot and being a ray of sunshine, obviously."

"Obviously."

It feels like the perfect time to tell him--what, exactly? She was afraid of coming alone and her ex-girlfriend was engaged, so she made Lincoln come and pretend to date her so she wouldn't feel out of place? At least he could relate.

But it's not really just her call, so she says, "Oh, hey, that one definitely looks like a vagina," instead, and Bellamy grins and follows her to the next piece.

*

She's doing some quick sketches for Tumblr when Lincoln gets back, looking sweaty and rugged. Clarke wolf-whistles, just to show he's appreciated.

"How was nature?"

"Nature is great. You're missing out." He tugs off his shirt and flexes when she ogles him. "How was Octavia's brother?"

"It's been less than twenty-four hours and I already want to tell him you're not my real boyfriend so we can make out."

"I can't believe you were worried about _me_ fake-cheating on _you_."

"So, are you saying you _don't_ want to make out with Octavia?"

He pauses. "I'm saying that I am capable of showing restraint. She is moving to Boston, there's no reason I have to make out with her right now. I can play the long game."

"But you totally want to."

"Of course I want to. But I'm not going to screw this up for you."

"I think I screwed it up for myself," she admits. "Are we still on singing telegram as the best way to break the news? Or did you come up with something better?"

"We could just get drunk tonight and see what happens."

"I think we're doing that anyway," says Clarke, smiling. "Just a hunch."

"So it's efficient."

"I'm still really, really grateful you came with me," Clarke says. "Don't start thinking I'm, you know--"

"Upset that your decision to lie about our relationship is preventing you from hooking up with your friend's brother?"

"Wow, that sounds awful when you say it aloud. I should definitely avoid ever explaining this situation to anyone."

"Yes," Lincoln agrees. "That would be my suggestion. But if you're going to do it, you should probably be drunk."

"Good call. Let's get that going."

*

Bellamy has his own class dinner to attend, which means that, for better or for worse, he's not around when Lexa shows up.

Ultimately, Clarke thinks it's better; she's feeling weird enough about her entire situation without thinking about Bellamy's opinion on it. She barely even _knows_ Bellamy, she has better things to worry about than his reaction to this.

Which is probably why she's thinking about it, because the alternate is interacting with the actual situation at hand: Lexa and her fiancee. They haven't noticed her yet, and she could probably put off the confrontation, but--this is as good a time as any. Lincoln is, naturally, by her side, one arm around her, a solid support, and her other friends are grabbing cookies, so it's just the two of them. The best possible situation. 

She's going to buy Lincoln something really nice for this. Or just figure out how to set him up with Octavia. There's probably a way to tell this story that makes him look normal and helpful and just reflects poorly on her.

It's probably even the most honest version of the story.

"Hi, Lexa," she manages, finally. They haven't spoken since the breakup, didn't even make eye contact at graduation. She doesn't know why they're even still Facebook friends, except that she hasn't even unfriended anyone on Facebook, and it always seems like too much work to start with Lexa.

And, okay, yeah. She was kind of curious about Lexa's life. A little. She kept hoping something would go wrong.

Lexa turns with one of her tight smiles, the kind that made Clarke wonder if she'd actually practiced the expression in a mirror, trying to figure out how her face worked. "Clarke," she says, voice light but unreadable. "It's good to see you. I wasn't sure you were coming."

"Yeah, apparently not updating Facebook makes me a total mystery to everyone." She offers a smile of her own. "This must be Costia? I do still _check_ Facebook, I saw the two of you got engaged. Congratulations."

Lexa's smile is more natural this time, fond as she looks at Costia. Clarke surprises herself by relaxing as well; she doesn't want Lexa to be miserable. It's nice to learn that about herself.

"Yes, this is her. Costia, this is Clarke. We dated senior year."

"It's a pleasure," says Clarke, and they shake hands. "This is my boyfriend, Lincoln."

Lincoln gives them both his usual charming smile, and they chat like normal people for a few minutes before Lexa asks, "So, what have you been up to, Clarke?"

Lincoln squeezes her hip, gentle, and Clarke lets out a breath before she says, "The usual. I'm teaching a couple workshops at the MFA and I have a full-time job doing picture framing."

"Picture framing?" asks Lexa, and Clarke doesn't let her stomach drop.

"Yeah."

"And you've got the webcomic," says Lincoln. "And a few pieces up in a gallery."

"It's going really well, honestly. I hadn't thought about doing comics before, but I started last year and it's really fun."

"That's good," says Lexa, her voice careful, but it sounds like she's trying, at least. "I'm glad you're happy."

"Yeah," says Clarke. "Me too."

Octavia drapes on her back, all drunken affection, and, to her shock, _beams_ at Lexa. "Hey, it's you!" she says, with apparently genuine excitement. "Clarke found you! Is it awkward? Am I making it awkward even though it wasn't? What's up? Is this your fiancee? She's pretty."

"You remember Octavia," says Clarke, smiling. "She's trying to be drunk non-stop."

"I was sober on the hike!"

"And then you had to drink, to forget the hike," says Clarke. "That's why I didn't go."

"I'm just trying to get my money's worth out of this reunion," says Octavia. "It's totally working. Anyway, my brother wants us to come play kings with his friends, do you guys want to come?"

It's not exactly Clarke's idea of hell, but she thinks that's a failure of imagination as much as anything. If it had occurred to her that she could play kings with her ex-girlfriend, her fake boyfriend, her college friends, Wells, Octavia's hot brother, and _his_ friends, she probably would have realized it was her own personal hell. And from now on, that is definitely what she's going with, if anyone asks.

Lexa seems pleased by the prospect, though; Clarke doubts she had a lot of people clamoring to hang out with her. "Is your brother local?"

"Nope, just old. He's here for the '06 reunion."

Lexa glances at Costia, who shrugs, and then she turns her attention back to Octavia. "Thank you. We'd love to come."

Clarke downs a shot before they go, just to be on the safe side; it feels insufficient, but at least it's something.

"Is being drunker really going to help?" Lincoln asks, curious, when she shoves a cup at him too.

"Only one way to find out."

The alcohol is some small comfort when Raven hooks her arm with Clarke's as they follow Octavia to wherever Bellamy is, pulling her slightly away from the group.

"I figured it out," says Raven.

"What?"

"You and Lincoln. You're not really dating."

Clarke freezes. "What?"

"Relax, no one else knows. But come on. You kept getting distracted by Bellamy's arms last night, and if your boyfriend looks like Lincoln, I'm pretty sure you don't care about Bellamy's arms. And you guys are--okay, you're not bad at this, but you've been telling me about your roommate for a while and I remember how you guys were when I visited and you've always seemed pretty platonic. And then I saw you guys with Lexa and it clicked. You were worried about seeing her."

"Not _worried_ ," Clarke protests. "Just nervous."

"So I'm right, right? I knew it!"

"I was going to tell you guys. I just--"

"You didn't want to come alone," says Raven, voice gentle. "I get it. You didn't go out on the best note. But you're feeling okay now, right?"

"Ask me again after we hang out with Lexa and her fiancée all night." She pauses. "Did you notice Lincoln checking out Octavia, or was this all on me?"

"I did, but he _was_ way more subtle. And I don't know him; he could have just been a dick. I was monitoring the situation so I could to tell you to dump his ass if necessary. But I know you'd never cheat on anyone, not after Finn." She pauses. "Not even before Finn."

Clarke leans her head against Raven's, all lit up with _love_. "I miss you. I'm going to stop being an idiot."

"I hope so, but I'm not holding my breath. Just based on prior experience." She squeezes her arm. "We'll get through this. It's just kings."

The problem with kings, though, is that it's not _just_ kings. Kings is really thirteen subgames and that means there are all kinds of ways it can go spectacularly wrong. Most of it's fun--Bellamy's friend Murphy pulls a king early and makes the "Blake siblings are alcoholics" rule, which requires Octavia to take a drink every time Bellamy does and vice versa, which Clarke really enjoys--and a lot is dumb, but a couple of their rules are fucking _stressful_.

"Who plays tens as Truth or Dare?" she asks Bellamy. She ended up between him and Lincoln, which is also really rough. Paying enough attention to Lincoln when Bellamy smells really good requires a lot of focus, especially when alcohol is involved.

"Categories always sucks. Except when Murphy has to do it."

"Fuck you!" says Murphy.

"One time the category was kinds of pie and he just yelled _PIE_ , chugged his drink, and passed out," says Bellamy. "We figured that was the best it'd ever do and retired it out of respect. So now we do truth or dare."

Lexa finishes her dare-- _get me another drink_ from Costia--and draws a four; Clarke slams her hand on the floor just before Bellamy notices and grins when he and Octavia clink their solo cups together and drink.

Bellamy's friend Echo draws a jack, and everyone instantly puts up five fingers for Never Have I Ever; Clarke hasn't played kings since she graduated, but apparently it's like riding a bike. The instinct never goes away.

She has two fingers left when Raven gives her a way-too-smug smile and says, "Never have I ever had a thing for Clarke."

Lexa, Wells, Lincoln, and Jasper all drink, which doesn't surprise her. Murphy asks, "Which one of you is Clarke?" and shrugs and takes a drink of his own when she raises her hand. "Sure, why not."

"Thanks," she says. "Flattered."

Bellamy and Octavia exchange a look, clink their glasses, and drink.

"I honestly have no idea which one of you started that," Echo comments, mild, and Bellamy flips her off.

"Both," he says, with a hint of a question to it, giving Octavia the chance to contradict him.

"Both," she agrees, and flashes a smile at Lexa. "That might be why I hated you senior year."

"Oh," says Lexa, sounding surprised. "Honestly. I just assumed I deserved it."

"You did," says Clarke, and they smile at each other. Five years is, apparently, long enough to realize they were all kind of dumbass kids, even at twenty-two. "But there can be multiple factors."

"Hey, you guys have to drink again," Monty says. "You can't just share drinks, that's cheating. Two instances of having a thing for Clarke, two drinks."

The Blakes sigh and tap their cups together again; Jasper, frowning hard, says, "Okay, never have I ever been bisexual."

Clarke and Lincoln toast and drink, along with Costia, Wells, and both Blakes. Twice.

Murphy finishes his drink and holds up his fist. "I'm out."

Clarke only realizes that she didn't get an explanation for _Bellamy_ having a thing for her five cards later, when Murphy draws a ten and dares Bellamy to kiss someone.

"Seriously?" he asks.

"What?"

"That's really tame for you."

"Would you rather streak? You can streak."

"No takebacks," Bellamy says, immediately. This is clearly a man who has gotten some bad dares in his life. 

He's seated between Clarke and Octavia, on the other side of the circle from most of his actual friends, and he's clearly doing the calculations to figure out how awkward it would be to lean across the circle. Finally, he just raises one corner of his mouth in a resigned smile at Clarke. "You mind?" he asks.

Clarke glances at Lincoln, for propriety's sake, but Lincoln shrugs, and Clarke does too. Bellamy slides his hand onto her cheek, palm dry and just a little rough, and Clarke's heart rate spikes. She hopes it's not completely obvious.

The kiss is soft and chaste, but he lingers long enough that Murphy can't accuse him of doing it improperly. Clarke hasn't kissed anyone in a while, and it takes effort not to chase his mouth after he moves away, to not draw him back in. It's hard to be sure, given all he did was press his lips against hers, but it was enough to make her think he's probably a really great kisser.

And he drank on having a thing for her, which--he's known her for a day, and she has a boyfriend, so when exactly was that? Is it ongoing since yesterday? Or did he just see her in Facebook pictures and think she was cute, like Lincoln did with Octavia? How does _he_ define _a thing_?

"I'm going to have you streak next time," says Murphy, startling Clarke from her thoughts. Bellamy is looking at her, pensive, and she really _hopes_ he's figured it out, like Raven did. It would make her life a lot easier.

"There are only two tens left," he says, easy and casual, and Clarke leans against Lincoln.

"You should try that," she says, figuring it's a pretty normal thing to say to her also bisexual boyfriend whom she wants everyone to think she's into.

He kisses her hair. "If I get a ten, I intend to."

*

Bellamy's friends wander off to go to a dance party, which Clarke has no interest in. She's hoping Lexa and Costia will, but she's not actually surprised when they don't. Lexa has never really been the dance-party type; Clarke was honestly surprised she was the drinking-game type. But she has loosened up a lot since she graduated, stopped taking herself so seriously. It's just as well, because Clarke isn't convinced she wouldn't have stressed herself to death, the way her life was going.

"We need more booze," Octavia declares, looking at the graveyard of empty red solo cups on the table and floor.

"Have you considered that we could not get blackout drunk?" Bellamy asks. He's flopped on a couch with one arm over his eyes, but he seems fairly sober. "Just saying. That's not a rule or anything."

"Don't tell me you want to have actual social interactions without the benefit of alcohol."

He pauses and then says, "Yeah, never mind. Let's get drunker. I'm not old enough that this is sad or anything."

"Like your entire class _isn't_ getting drunk. And you're not, you know. Generally sad. As a human being."

"Thanks, O."

As cute as the sibling sniping is, Clarke could use some air, so she drags herself off the floor, waits for the room to completely right itself, and says, "I'll go get drinks."

"I'll help," Bellamy and Lincoln say at the same time, and Clarke refuses to let it get weird. Or weirder. Everything is already weird. It's like she's stepping back in time and into a bad romantic comedy at the same time. 

"Great, three of us should be able to pick up enough booze, no problem," she says, deliberately not looking at _anyone_. There is nowhere safe to look. "Come on."

Bellamy waits until they're outside to say, "I'm pretty sure they think we just wanted to have a threesome," in a carefully neutral tone.

Clarke glances at Lincoln, whose expression clearly says he is going to stay out of this. "Were you thinking that?" she finally asks.

He opens and closes his mouth a few times, and then finally says, "Uh, Lincoln's not really my type. No offense. You seem like a cool guy."

"None taken. This is all you," Lincoln adds, to her, as if this is some kind of favor and not a dick move. A dick move that she completely deserves, but still. He could at least acknowledge it's going to be awkward and terrible.

"We're not dating," she admits, in a rush. "Me and Lincoln. We're just--roommates. And BFFs. I was already nervous about coming this weekend and then Lexa got engaged and I honestly wasn't sure your sister didn't still hate me and it seemed like a good idea. And then we were going to tell you guys because it's awkward, but Octavia decided to be nice to Lexa, so--you can tell me to shut up any time."

He was kind of gaping through her explanation, but he grins at that. "Oh, no, no way. Don't stop on my account. This is awesome. Keep going."

"That's basically it. I just--I was expecting this to go really badly and that I'd need backup, but then it went really well, and I felt shitty lying to you guys, but--"

"But Lexa was here. Yeah, I can see that. Telling your friends you were nervous and made your friend pose as your boyfriend for your ex's benefit is fine, but telling your ex that--"

"Yeah, exactly." She wets her lips. "Sorry."

"I'm pretty sure I'm one of the least wronged parties here," he says, smile wry. "You met me yesterday."

"Yeah, but--you live pretty close to me. I'm hoping I'm going to see more of you."

His expression brightens instantly, and Clarke's breath catches. "Me too." He clears his throat. "You know your fake boyfriend wandered off, right?"

She glances around. "No, I didn't notice."

"And my sister was groaning about how unfair it was that all the hot people are dating each other instead of her."

"Lincoln remembered her as my hot college friend, so I think--"

Bellamy slides his hand down her jaw and around to the back of her neck, leaning down to press his mouth against hers again. The kiss is just as slow and gentle as the first one, but he doesn't stop this time, and when her arms twine around his neck, he teases his tongue against her lips, waiting for her to open for him so he can slide his tongue against hers, hot and wet and so, so perfect. 

She was right; he's _such_ a good kisser.

She's breathing hard when he finally pulls back, rests his forehead against hers with a small, private smile. "They're definitely going to think we're having a threesome."

"I'm good with that."

"Even Lexa?"

"She really mellowed out. I feel like she'd be happy for me and my many boyfriends."

He laughs. "Seriously, you should tell O. She'll think it's hilarious."

"I didn't know she had a thing for me in college," she admits, feeling guilty. "I didn't even know she was bi."

"She's pretty heavily skewed to guys, I think. And I noticed she had a thing for you before she did, with how much she was complaining about Lexa."

"And when did _you_ notice you had a thing for me?" she asks, taking his hand and tugging him in the direction of the science quad, for privacy.

"The five minutes before you said you had a boyfriend," he says, grinning. "And the ten minutes since you said you didn't."

He's got her pressed up against the earth sciences building, his mouth on her jaw, when her phone buzzes, and she checks to see Lincoln has texted, _I've got drinks, what are YOU doing?_

"To be continued?" she asks Bellamy. His mouth is swollen and his hair is sticking up in all directions, so she does her best to put it back in some semblance of order. Mostly so she can touch it more.

"Looking forward to it," he agrees, and lets her pull him toward the drinks tent.

The rest of the evening feels a lot less awkward, even though Clarke's not sure it actually is. She leans on Lincoln a lot and teases Bellamy with Octavia and is generally kind of drunk and optimistic and happy with the world. Costia is nice, a little quiet, with an edge to her that Clarke likes, a hint of steely resolve and ice that makes her understand why Lexa would love her. And she's _happy_ Lexa loves her. Clarke wants everyone to be happy. Happiness is _awesome_.

She and Octavia stumble back to the dorm arm-in-arm, along with the rest of her friends, and Clarke says, "I can't believe you had a thing for me! You were cute, I would have gone for that."

Octavia grins and presses a sloppy kiss to her cheek. "Are you saying I'm not cute anymore?"

"The cutest," Clarke says, and disentangles herself so she can go up to the third floor with Lincoln.

"How was making out with Bellamy?" he asks, once they've collapsed into bed.

"Who says I made out with Bellamy?" He doesn't dignify that with a response, and she rolls over to snuggle in against his side. "It was amazing. I'm sorry I'm the worst fake-girlfriend of all time. But you totally have a shot with his sister, if it helps."

Lincoln wraps his arm around her and tugs her into his side. "Slightly. But you still owe me _forever_."

"I really do."

"And you have to be the one to tell Octavia."

She laughs. "Yeah. That too."

*

Clarke assumes that Lexa and Costia will join them for breakfast, but Octavia wants to go to a diner for something incredibly greasy, and insists that it should be just for their friends from the freshman dorm, which means the two of them, Monty, and Jasper. Raven and Wells take Lincoln under their wing, and Clarke tries not to fidget through the drive to the diner and the wait to order.

Once the waitress has left, she takes a deep breath and says, "So, Lincoln isn't my boyfriend. He's just my roommate. I was nervous about coming alone after Lexa got engaged so I--"

"Fake dating?" asks Monty, sounding eager. "I _told you_ it was fake dating!" he adds to Jasper.

"I thought people didn't really do that!" Jasper says. "Seriously, people _don't_ do that! How were you _right_?"

"It's because Clarke and I are connected on a spiritual level."

"Were you guys betting on this?" Clarke asks, but most of her attention is on Octavia, who's still quiet. She doesn't look angry, just--thoughtful. Like she's reviewing the weekend with this new information in mind. Clarke can't blame her.

"A little bit," says Jasper. "Sorry, it was just so obvious something was up!"

"People think Lincoln and I are dating _all the time_ ," Clarke says. "Why did none of you guys buy it? Raven called me on it last night."

"You were checking out Octavia's brother a lot. And, you know." Monty gestures between them. "Connected on a spiritual level."

"Sorry," Clarke says, low, turning her attention back to Octavia. "It seemed like such a good idea until I realized I was lying to you guys too."

Octavia snorts at that. "Until you realized my brother was hot, you mean," she says, smile tugging at her lips. "You _were_ checking him out. Did you tell us just so you could make out with him?"

She can't help wincing. "I kind of already made out with him."

Thankfully, all that gets is a snort and a roll of Octavia's eyes. "Wow. I hope you told him first, I didn't think he was _that_ desperate."

"Yeah, I told him first. I was going to tell you, but--Lexa was around, and I'm never telling her this story. I don't care how much she's mellowed out, I'm not admitting this to her ever. But I'm sorry I didn't just tell you guys from the beginning."

"I was nervous too," Octavia says. "About coming. If Bell wasn't going to be here I might have--" She stops. "No, never mind, Jasper's right, I wouldn't have gotten a fake boyfriend. No one really does that. But I might have made Bell come anyway."

"Is fake dating really weirder than bringing your brother as a plus one?" Clarke teases, and Octavia snorts.

"Yeah, it really is. So much weirder. Sorry, Griffin. You win at bad decisions."

"Thanks," says Clarke, but her smile is genuine. "For my prize, I'm asking everyone to not tell Lexa."

"Deal," says Octavia, and waits until they're on their way back to the car before she leans in by Clarke's side and asks, "So, does this mean Lincoln is single too?"

Clarke bites back on a huge grin. "You know, he _is_ single. I'm glad you asked."

*

The fake-dating thing is a lot more fun with all her friends in on it. Monty and Jasper are coming up with ridiculous stories from their dating history, all of which she and Lincoln gleefully confirm, while Bellamy is acting like they hang out at home all the time, possibly in a threesome way. If she was planning to talk to any of these people before the next five-year reunion, she might be concerned, but as it is, she's pretty sure no one is going to remember her weird stories about her boyfriend, whom she's not really dating anyway, by the time the next one rolls around. And if they do, she's happy to go with it.

She guesses that if it works out with her and Bellamy, it might be weird if they're both back in five years and people think her relationship with him started as a threesome with Lincoln, but honestly, she'd be fine with that.

"Yeah, that sounds good to me," Bellamy says, when she points it out to him. They're at an LGBT student event, which is so far mostly people who wanted to hook up this weekend and haven't yet trying to find someone to make out with before they go home tomorrow.

It's possible that's why Bellamy keeps hinting he's planning on going home with her and Lincoln, actually; a lot of guys are hitting on him. And it's probably true.

"Also, I'm seriously getting too old for the blackout drunk thing," he adds. "I texted O to see if she'd disown me if we just watched Netflix."

"I assume the answer was yes," says Clarke. "Knowing Octavia."

"If she could disown me that easily she already would have. She asked if she could do a drinking game and I said sure, so I think that's the plan if you guys want in after this."

"Are you just embarrassed your baby sister has better alcohol tolerance than you do?" Clarke teases.

"Also I'm really old," he says, with no trace of shame. "That's a yes, right?"

"Obviously."

Monty brought a Wii because of course he did, and by the time Clarke, Lincoln, and Bellamy get back to the dorm, he's got it hooked up into a common room TV and Octavia, Monty, and Wells are working on a very complicated list of rules for a drinking game. There are also a bunch of random bored drunk kids hanging around, including Lexa and Costia, so Clarke figures she can't just sit in Bellamy's lap and hope no one notices he's not the guy she actually came with.

If she plays her cards right she can still probably hook up with him, though.

"Isn't the whole point of a drinking game that the rules are easy enough you can keep doing them even when you're wasted?" Bellamy asks, leaning over his sister's shoulder. " _The third word of a sentence ends with a vowel_ , really?"

"We wouldn't drink on that sentence, FYI," Monty says. "Or that one. But we would on that one. What's the point of a game if it's easy?"

Bellamy apparently has no good response to that, because he just pats Monty on the shoulder. "Rock on," he says, and flops down on the floor with Clarke, Lincoln, and Miller. "Your boyfriend is a weirdo."

"You don't get to make fun of me about that ever again," Miller responds, easy, and Bellamy thinks it over and inclines his head.

"Point."

Clarke drinks a little, just beer, so she can attempt to keep up with the absurd drinking game, which is so complicated no one actually even drinks that much, because they're so busy arguing whether or not they should be drinking. Lexa finally starts making rulings _as a lawyer_ just to streamline the process.

She could definitely do this again in five years. Ideally without a shitshow of a breakup with Bellamy that will necessitate another fake relationship, but she could live with that too. Fake dating is kind of fun.

"I am happy," she tells Lincoln. "It's great."

He kisses her temple. "You are, and it is."

They finish the movie and Lexa and Costia decide to turn in; once they're safely gone, Bellamy makes noises about leaving too, and Clarke and Lincoln exchange a look.

"I'm going to stay down here," Lincoln says carefully. "For an episode of something."

"We'll make sure he makes it to a bed!" Jasper tells Clarke, draping himself on one side of Lincoln while Octavia drapes herself on the other.

"Then, yeah, I'm heading out too," she says. "See you guys tomorrow."

There's no one in the hallway, and Clarke cannot imagine anyone is really going to notice or care if Bellamy follows her into her room anyway. No one is actually invested in her romantic status. Even Lexa isn't; she probably wouldn't care if Clarke was cheating on Lincoln. 

Still, it's kind of fun, being a little discreet about it. It's fun pretending she has something to hide.

"I can go back to my room," Bellamy offers, when they get to the stairs.

"You can," Clarke agrees. "Do you want to?" There's a pause long enough that Clarke glances back at him, surprised. "Do you?"

"No, I just--I want to make sure you're going to go out with me when we get home."

"Oh, yeah, obviously. Either way."

He laughs. "Cool. I would love to follow you home then, yeah."

They're kissing again as soon as the door closes, Bellamy's mouth hot and insistent against hers. She's a little tipsy, but she's pretty sure it's not enough to make her head spin, so that's got to be _him_. His hands are huge, cupping her face, and his chest is firm as he pushes her against the door. Clarke slides her hands under his shirt, tugging him even closer, wanting to feel everything, all of him.

"I wasn't actually planning to hook up here," he murmurs, grinning.

"In my room?"

"At the reunion. I always thought it was kind of pathetic. Murphy had a list of people he didn't manage to fuck in college that he wanted to fuck this weekend."

"How's that list going for him?"

Bellamy laughs and tugs her shirt over her head. "Not well."

"If it helps, I was seventeen when you graduated from college, so you couldn't have hooked up with me while you were here."

"Yeah, that makes me feel so much better," he teases. "Puts everything into perspective."

"You can at least fuck me on a very uncomfortable dorm bed. If that makes you feel better."

"You know, it really does."

He's laughing as she tugs him over to the bed, and as she pulls off his shirt. She kisses him until he has no breath left for laughing, and keeps kissing him even after.

*

Clarke wakes up with someone wrapped around her, and she forgets for a minute that it's Bellamy and not Lincoln. But Bellamy is about half Lincoln's size, so she gets with the program pretty quickly, so instead of ignoring his morning wood, she snuggles back against him, deliberate, until he groans and tightens his arm around her.

"I bet we've got class breakfast or some shit," he says, against her neck. His hand slides down between her legs, fingers finding her clit and rubbing gently.

"I bet we do," Clarke says, hooking her leg over his to give him better access. "I bet no one will miss us."

He laughs and presses her down into the mattress, kisses her long and deep as he slides his fingers inside her instead. "Best reunion ever," he murmurs, and Clarke doesn't have a lot to compare it to, but she's inclined to agree.

 

**Five years later**

"Clarke!" says Lexa, looking genuinely delighted. Maybe the older she gets, the less stressed she becomes. Clarke doesn't understand how that's possible, but good for Lexa. "Lincoln. It's so good to see the two of you again."

Clarke gives her a hug; ten years is definitely long enough to be good with hugging Lexa. "Good to see you too. I saw you made partner, congratulations."

"Thank you. I read your book. The comic one. I enjoyed it."

Clarke stifles her smile. "Thanks. It's not, you know, the next Harry Potter or anything, but I'm having a lot of fun with it."

"I'm looking forward to your next." Her eye strays down. "And I see more congratulations are in order."

"Hm?" asks Clarke.

"The rings. I see the two of you got married. I'm so happy for you."

"Oh," says Clarke, awkward. She rubs the back of her neck, feeling the brush of her wedding ring against her skin. "Actually--"

"Here, start getting drunk, O is way ahead of us," says Bellamy, sliding in beside her and handing her a gin and tonic. He notices Lexa and flashes her a smile. "Hey, Lexa, right?"

Lexa frowns, trying to place him, but she gets there. "Bellamy, yes? Octavia's brother?"

"Yeah, um--he's actually my husband now," Clarke says, relaxing into his touch. "Coming up on three years."

"Ah," says Lexa. "I'm sorry, I just assumed--"

"No, no, I get it. Lincoln's married to Octavia too. It's--a long story," she says. Hugging seems doable; explaining what happened at their last reunion remains pretty daunting. "I'll tell you later."

"By later, do you mean the fifteenth reunion?" Bellamy teases, once Lexa has wandered off.

Their fifteenth reunion sounds possible. She'll be far enough from events at the fifteenth reunion to explain about panicking and making her best friend pretend to be her boyfriend so Lexa wouldn't think her life was a total mess. It's going to be funny. They'll have a nice laugh .

"Twentieth reunion," she says. "Twentieth for sure."

Lincoln snorts and taps his cup against hers. "I will be holding you to that."

"Of course you will," she says. "What are friends for?"


End file.
